Cultivator-tooth



2 Sheets-Sheet l.

(No Model.)

A. G. ANDERSON.

GULTIVATOR TOOTH. N0. 315,879. Patented Apr. 14, 1885.

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Y GULTIVATOR TOOTH. No. 815,879. Patented Apr. 14, 1885.

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ANDREW' G. ANDERSQN, OF JANESVILLE, VISCONSIN.

CULTIVATOR-TOOTH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 315,879, dated April14.5., 1885.

Y Application filed January 2l, 1885. (No model.)

To all whom muy concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW G. ANDERSON, of Janesville, in the county ofRock and State of isconsin, have .invented certain new and usefulimprovements in Cultivator-Teeth; and l do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make anduse the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in teeth for cultivators,seeding-machines, harrows, die., and relates particularly to that class.of teeth which are constructed to yield and pass over obstructionsencountered in the operation of the machine.

The object of the invention is to provide a tooth with a yieldingspring-connection with the drag-bar, the parts to be constructed in sucha manner that they may be adjusted to retain the tooth against anypredetermined strain exerted ou its lower or working portion, whereby itshall be adapted for use in different kinds of soil, and which willallow it te slip or yield to any obstruction or strain, and thus obviatebreakage or injury to its parts, the springcounection to be arranged soas to return the tooth to its normal and operative position when it haspassed over an obstruction or has beenl released from undue strain;further, to construct and arrange the connecting and-yielding mechanismin such a manner that the tooth will withstand the greatest strain whilein its normal or operative position, and when once forced rearwardlyfrom such position or adjustment it will readily yield to such an angleas to allow it to pass over an obstruction.

lWith these ends in view my invention consists in certain features ofconstruction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafterdescribed, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is 'a view in side elevation of adrag-bar having one of my improved tooth attachments connectedtherewith. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing one side of thedrag-bar'removed, the tooth being represented in its normal or operativeposition. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the tooth in its position 'topass over an obstruction. Fig. ai isa plan view, and Fig. 5 is avertical section.

A. represents a dragbar, preferably constructed of the wrought-iron barsa a, divergiug at their forward ends, and perforated for their pivotalattachment to the cultivator frame. The bars a a are secured togethernear their forward ends by means of the rivets b b, (one or any numbermay be employed) which are preferably constructed of wroughtiron, andeach formed with a central enlarged collet, b. The collets or disks b'serve as spacing-disks and present enlarged bearings, thereby servingtoinsure a strong and iirm connection for the side pieces of the drag-bar.

B represents the cultiv'atontooth, which may be of any approvedconstruction. The tooth is pivoted by the bolt c between the rear endsof the link-bars C C', the forward ends of the latter being pivoted on abolt, ci, eX- tending through the side pieces of the dragbar. Betweenthe side pieces of the drag-bar at its rear end are pivoted on the boltD the plates or bars E E. The upper end of the shank of the tooth ispivoted between the rear arms, e, of the bars E E on the bolt E', whileon a bolt, F, passing through their forward arms, f j', is pivoted oneend of a volute spring, G, which extends upwardly above the dragbar, andcurves forwardly and downwardly between the side pieces of the drag-bar,and then extends upwardly between the bars E E, the rear end, H, or heelof the spring being constructed in the form of a fork, which engages theeccentric block or roller l, mounted on a bolt, J, extending through therear end of the drag-bar. This roller is mounted eccentrically and inrotary adjustment on the bolt, and is constructed with an annulargroove, i, in which rests the forked end ofthe spring G. The upper endof the tooth B rests normally in contact with the face of the eccentricroller i, or against the spring lying on the face of the roller, thetooth being held in this position by the tension of the spring G. Theseveral adjustments of the eccentric roller l will therefore determinethe vertical adjustment of the tooth with respect to the drag-bar orline of draft, and hence determine the degree of resistance which thepoint of the tooth will require to throw it back. For example, let .fr.fr represent a line drawn parallel with the drag-bar through thepivotal bolt D, and let y y represent a line drawn through the same boltparallel with the bars E E. Now, when the side of the eccentricy whichis the least distance from the axial bolt J is toward the end of thetooth B the angle :v D y will be the least, and the amount of resistancerequired to upset the tooth will consequently be the greatest; but whenthe sidefof the eccentric roller which is greatest from the axial bolt Jis toward the endfof the tooth the'angle x Dfy will be the greatest, andthe amount of resistance required to upset the tooth the least. Again,by means of the rotary adjustment of theeccentric roller the volutespring may be either contracted or expanded, and hence its tensionincreased or decreased as desired.

If the character of the work to be done is such that it is desirablethat the tooth shall yield to the minimum strain exerted on its point,the eccentric roller is adjusted so that the tooth B shall occupy adepressed position with reference to the drag-bar-that is, so that theangle x D y shall be the greatest, and so that the spring will beallowed to expand as much as possible-while, on the other hand, if thecultivator is to be used in very stiff soil, and it is desired to retainthe teeth against maximum strain, then the eccentric roller is adjustedso as to make the angle x D y as small as possible, and so as tocontract the spring to its fullest extent.

In the operation of the tooth,power is transmitted from the drag-bar tothe tooth through the links C C', the tooth being prevented from turningon its pivotal bearing c by means of the locking-bars E E, which areretained in the position illustrated in Fig. 2 by means of the tensionofthe spring G, which is constantly exerted to depress the forward arms,j' f, of the locking-bars. When the tooth is in this its normalposit-ion for work, the bolt E', which serves as a pivotal connectionbetween the upper end of the tooth and locking-bars E E, is nearly in ahorizontal plane with the bolt D on which the locking-bars E E arepivoted, and hence the tooth may be subjected to great strain while linthis position without its being rotated on its bearing; but should thetooth meet with an obstruction which would be liable to break it, unlessreleased from the undue strain caused thereby, the lower end of thetooth will be retained in a stationary position, while its upper endwill be carried along with the drag-bar, the locking-bars being rotatedon their bearing enabling the tooth to assume the position illustratedin Fig. 3, and thus pass over the obstruction. When the tooth is in itsnormal position, the strain or force necessary to retain it in positionis almost wholly borneby the bolts E and D, thus relieving the spring ofany undue strain or work. When an obstruction which causes the tooth toyield is met with, the spring is called into action and allows the toothto yield, and then returns it to its original position after theobstruction has been passed.

The vertical adjustment of the tooth rela-v tively tothe drag-bar andthe adjustment of the tension of. the spring are important features, as,by simply turning the eccentric roller, the machine is adapted andadjusted for any kind of soil. v

By locating the spring in the manner shown and described, it is situatedout of the Way and is not liable to become broken in the use of 'themachine. v

As it is evident that many slight changes in the form, construction, andrelative arrangement of the different parts of my improvement might beresorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention,'I wouldhave it understood that I do not restrict myself to the particularconstruction, form, and arrangement of parts shown and described; but,

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination, with a drag-bar, tooth, and link connecting thetooth and drag-bar, of locking-bars pivoted to the tooth and dragbar, aspring engaging the locking-bar, and:

an adjustable support for one end ofthe spring,

'substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with the drag bar, tooth, and links connecting thetooth and dragbar, of locking-bars pivotally connecting the upper end ofthetooth and the drag-bar, and a spring pivotally connected at one endwith the locking-bars, and its opposite end sup'- ported on aneccentric-roller bearing, substantially as set forth. y

3. The combination, with a yielding tooth and spring, of an eccentricroller with which one end of the spring engages, substantially as setforth.

4. The combination, with a tooth pivotally connected to links attachedto the drag-bar, of an eccentric roller and a spring having a forked endthat engages said roller, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with a drag-bar composed of side pieces connectedtogether, a tooth and links pivoted to the tooth and to the drag-bar, of-locking-bars pivoted between the side pieces ofthe drag-bar and to theupper end of the tooth, and a spring situated between the side pieces ofthe drag-bar, one end of the spring engaging they locking-bars and theother end engaging an adjustable support, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, with a tooth secured to a drag-bar, of an eccentricabutment for the upper end of the tooth, whereby the angle formed by theline of dra-ft and line of connection is varied, substantially as setforth. i

In testimony whereof I have signed this'A speciiication in the presenceof two subscrib-y ing witnesses.

ANDREW G. ANDERSON.

Witnesses:

HORACE McELRoY, WILLIAM STREET.

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